General Liability
-
May 01, 2025
Bank Says Insurer Owes $1.8M In Vandalism Coverage
A bank accused a Berkshire unit and its insurance agent of underpaying coverage for property damage from "vandalism and/or theft," saying that while it's received roughly $105,000 in coverage to date, the insurer has yet to pay nearly $1.8 million.
-
May 01, 2025
Pierson Ferdinand Adds Insurance Group With New Atty
The rapidly growing firm of Pierson Ferdinand LLP announced Thursday that it tapped a new partner who was previously with Carlton Fields to launch an international insurance regulatory team practice along with another Los Angeles-based attorney.
-
May 01, 2025
4th Circ. To Mull Towers Watson's Bump-Up Exclusion Appeal
The Fourth Circuit will have another chance to interpret the language of so-called bump-up exclusions when it hears oral arguments next week in Towers Watson's long-running dispute to secure $54 million in directors and officers coverage for settlements resolving shareholder litigation. Here, Law360 breaks down the case in advance of the May 6 hearing.
-
April 30, 2025
Nationwide Says Claim For 'Fat Freezing' Injury Isn't Covered
Nationwide has filed suit asking an Illinois federal court to declare that it has no duty to cover a suburban Chicago gym in a 3-year-old "fat freezing" injury case headed to trial in June, saying the underlying injury doesn't trigger the facility's policy.
-
April 30, 2025
Schools Say Norfolk Southern Ducked Postderailment Pledge
The school district for East Palestine, Ohio, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Norfolk Southern, claiming the railroad hasn't made good on its promises to help the district recover after a fiery derailment shook the town in 2023.
-
April 30, 2025
NY Diocese, Lloyd's Of London End Sex Abuse Coverage Suit
Lloyd's of London underwriters and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre agreed to end a dispute over the payment of defense expenses related to sexual abuse claims against the diocese, according to a New York federal court filing entered Wednesday, months after the Catholic organization confirmed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.
-
April 29, 2025
Insurer Denies Extra $5M For Event Co.'s Injury Dispute
An insurer for a motocross event organizer doesn't owe an additional $5 million in coverage on top of the $1 million it already paid to settle a suit over a child's injury at an amateur national motocross championship event, the carrier told an Ohio federal court.
-
April 28, 2025
Geico's Failure To Settle Caused $2.8M Judgment, Suit Says
A court-appointed receiver for an at-fault driver has told a North Carolina federal court that Geico should be on the hook for a more than $2.8 million consent judgment against the driver stemming from an August 2020 crash, saying the insurer failed to settle underlying injury claims for the driver's $100,000 limit.
-
April 28, 2025
8th Circ. Told Insurer Must Keep Defending Fatal Crash Suit
A logistics company facing wrongful death claims told the Eighth Circuit its insurer must pay to defend it because it was insured under a trucking company's policy and there was no agreement that a $1 million payment by the insurer absolved the insurer of its duties.
-
April 28, 2025
Insurance Agency Says Carrier Can't End Car Policy Program
An insurance agency that provides specialized policies for car rental companies asked a Pennsylvania federal court to halt an insurer's plan to abruptly cancel a program through which the agency writes the policies, saying the proposed termination would cause "major disruptions" to rental companies and their customers nationwide.
-
April 28, 2025
Petrol Co. Says Carriers Must Defend Benzene Injury Suit
A petroleum services company told a New York state court that three of its marine insurers have failed to cover any defense costs incurred in a benzene injury lawsuit, even after it said the lead insurer agreed to defend it under a reservation of rights.
-
April 25, 2025
$1.1M Hail Coverage Suit Against Travelers Is Time-Barred
An Oklahoma property owner cannot get revised coverage from two Travelers units for more than $1.1 million in claimed hail damage repairs, an Oklahoma federal court ruled, finding that after Travelers paid roughly $100,000 in coverage, the property owner filed its coverage action too late.
-
April 25, 2025
Ga. HOA Not Covered In $10M Dog Attack Suit, Insurer Says
An insurer told a Georgia federal court that it doesn't owe coverage to a homeowner's association in a $10 million suit brought by a woman who said she was viciously attacked by her neighbor's dogs in part because of the association's failure to enforce its covenant on animals.
-
April 24, 2025
Ill. Justices' Pollution Exclusion Review Could Realign Courts
The Illinois Supreme Court's agreement to consider whether pollution exclusions in standard-form commercial general liability policies apply to industrial emissions allowed under a regulatory permit could potentially provide certainty on the issue and realign Illinois' interpretation with other state courts, experts say.
-
April 24, 2025
Shopify Privacy Ruling May Spark New Wave Of Litigation
A Ninth Circuit ruling that revived a suit alleging Shopify violated privacy laws using tracking software cleared a key procedural bar that could open the floodgates to a new wave of litigation, threatening to strain an insurance market already tested by privacy suit claims.
-
April 24, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
California property owners affected by recent wildfires accused hundreds of insurers of collusion, Colorado's justices said no exception exists to the state's economic loss rule for willful and wanton conduct claims, and a California federal judge questioned insurers' bid to litigate coverage for injury claims against Meta in Delaware. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
-
April 24, 2025
Pest Co.'s Ex-Employee Not Covered In Child Assault Suit
An insurer for a pest control company needn't cover a suit alleging a former employee assaulted a minor whom he recruited to work at the business, a Mississippi federal court ruled, finding that neither the employee nor his insulation company is insured under any available insurance policy.
-
April 24, 2025
Law Prof Pushes For Regulating Sustainability In Insurance
Consumers should have more information about the sustainability features of their ordinary insurance products, but existing regulations in the United Kingdom and Europe don't encourage transparency or innovation of sustainable-minded products. Franziska Arnold-Dwyer, an associate law professor at University College London, spoke to Law360 about sustainability in insurance and her recent paper on the matter.
-
April 23, 2025
Meta MDL Judge Doubts Insurers' Bid To Kick Fight To Del.
A California federal judge presiding over sprawling social media personal injury multidistrict litigation doubted on Wednesday insurers' arguments their multimillion-dollar coverage fight with Meta belongs in Delaware state court, questioning how moving the case would preserve judicial resources, while observing that Hartford's pre-litigation conduct may have been in bad faith.
-
April 23, 2025
9th Circ. Asked To Modify Ruling In LA Port Co. Coverage Row
A Los Angeles port operator's insurer asked a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit to rethink part of its decision ordering a jury trial on the amount of defense costs the operator incurred while litigating pollution claims brought by the city, arguing they improperly relied on a depublished decision.
-
April 23, 2025
Insurer Says No Coverage For $7.8M Tornado Damage Suit
The insurer for a construction inspection company claimed it owed no coverage for a suit alleging the company overlooked deficiencies that contributed to a $7.8 million tornado loss, telling a New Jersey federal court the policyholder had no coverage for professional services gone wrong.
-
April 23, 2025
No Coverage For Shopping Mall In Shooting Suit, Insurer Says
Scottsdale Insurance Co. has told a Florida federal court that the owner of part of a shopping plaza isn't owed coverage for a $1 million personal injury lawsuit brought by a man who was shot in the parking lot of the shopping center, arguing that the incident didn't occur on the covered premises.
-
April 22, 2025
Insurer Skirts Bad Faith Claim In $60M Liposuction Death Row
The professional liability insurer for a Georgia cosmetic surgery provider didn't act in bad faith in handling a liposuction patient death claim that eventually led to a $60 million judgment, a Utah federal court ruled, rejecting arguments that the insurer breached its duties.
-
April 22, 2025
Insurer Urges 11th Circ. To Nix Law Firm Malpractice Coverage
An insurance company has urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive its lawsuit seeking a ruling that it does not have to defend Georgia law firm Fellows LaBriola LLC in a malpractice case because of a misappropriation exclusion included in the firm's policy.
-
April 22, 2025
Insurer Gets $16M Coverage Suit Stayed For NY Court Appeal
A New York federal court paused an insurer's dispute over coverage for a $16 million default judgment entered against its insureds in a wrongful death suit due to an ongoing appeal concerning the vacatur of that judgment.
Expert Analysis
-
The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024
Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.
-
Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery
Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Artfully Conceding Liability Can Offer Defendants 3 Benefits
In the rare case that a company makes the strategic decision to admit liability, it’s important to do so clearly and consistently in order to benefit from the various forms of armor that come from an honest acknowledgment, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
-
What Insurers Should Know About AI Use In Litigation
As the use of artificial intelligence in litigation evolves, insurers should note standing court orders, instances of judges utilizing AI to determine policy definitions and the application of evidentiary standards to expert evidence that incorporates AI, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.
-
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025
Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
-
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win
Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
-
A Federal Insurance Mandate For Private Aviation Is Overdue
A recent private plane crash in California that killed two people and injured 19 others spotlights the dangers of such occurrences — and serves as a reminder that because there is no federal requirement for general aviation pilots to carry insurance, the victims of these accidents are often unable to obtain fair compensation, says Timothy Loranger at Wisner Baum.
-
6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025
This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.
-
Defense Strategies For Addressing Conspiracy-Minded Jurors
As conspiracy theories continue to proliferate and gain traction in the U.S., defense attorneys will need to consider ways to keep conspiracy-minded jurors from sitting on the jury, and to persuade them when this isn’t possible, say consultants at IMS Legal Strategies.
-
Surprise NC COVID Ruling Revises Reasonable Expectations
The North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 shutdown orders runs contrary to most other state and federal courts' holdings on the issue, and may revitalize the reasonable expectations doctrine in the state, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.
-
How Trial Attys Can Wield Amended Federal Evidence Rules
Trial lawyers should assess recent amendments to four Federal Rules of Evidence and a newly enacted rule on illustrative aids to determine how to best use the rules to enhance pretrial discovery and trial strategy, says Stewart Edelstein, former litigation chair at Cohen & Wolf.
-
Mich. Ruling Offers View On 'Occurrence' Coverage Definition
As demonstrated by a Michigan state court in its recent decision finding per-wound insurance coverage for a school shooting, the amount of coverage available under occurrence-based policies often depends on how courts interpret "occurrence," say attorneys at Hunton.
-
Identifying Deepfakes During Evidence Collection, Discovery
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys must familiarize themselves with the tools used to create and detect deepfakes — media manipulated by artificial intelligence to convincingly mimic real people and events — as well as best practices for keeping this fabricated evidence out of court, says Bijan Ghom at Saxton & Stump.